Banded Girl

Saturday, June 18 marked two years since I had LAP-BAND surgery. As many people do on the occasion of their WLS anniversaries, I’ve been thinking a lot about the weight I have (and haven’t) lost and whether I’d have surgery again.

The short answer to the question, “Was weight loss surgery worth it to you?” is yes. As with many things in life, the longer answer is more complex.

The good? I lost 100 pounds in 18 months and have mostly maintained that loss for the last six months. My constant knee pain is gone, as are my daily headaches. My almost constant back and neck pain have been greatly reduced. I have made many wonderful, beautiful, amazing friends in the weight loss surgery community (mostly on Twitter) and have been fortunate enough to meet several of them in person. I can shop in stores with names which don’t start with “Lane” and end with “Bryant” (although some XLs are still too small).

Most importantly, I have learned so much about diet and exercise and found that I have a real passion for this stuff! If I hadn’t lost some weight, I don’t think I would have had the drive to delve as in-depth as I have into these worlds. WLS also gave me a new starting point when it comes to diet; the most recent changes I’ve made would have seemed impossible to me two years ago. I’ll tell you more about that in an upcoming post (promise!).

The not so good? I’m still “obese” by almost every standard you can think of (body fat percentage, BMI, double chin test, etc.). I still don’t get taken seriously by doctors when I tell them that I’m pretty damn positive I have an endocrine/metabolic/hormonal problem of some sort (I’m still continuously tired, bruise as easily as an overripe peach, feel like I’m slightly out of phase from the rest of the world, among other things). Also, as I’ve stated before, I get bent out of shape when I think about the absolute WRONGNESS of our current view on nutrition and how maybe none of us would need to resort to surgery if people would wake up and realize that low-fat calorie restriction simply is not working for most people.

I think the big question is, “Would you recommend WLS to others?”

I’ve never had a blanket answer for that, to be honest. I’ve always said that it depends upon the individual, and I still think that’s true. If anything, I think I’d like to see more restriction on the people who have surgery. Now, I don’t mean for insurance purposes, but I do think that many surgeons’ offices should have more in-depth analysis of individuals to see if they have the wherewithal required to be successful WLS patients. I do not think that everyone with a BMI over a certain number should automatically qualify for surgery. There are just too many intricacies and unknowns that come with WLS of any type.